Jason9142002

Anyone have luck with Chinese carbon wheels? The price is around $400. I'm doing a bike build and I am considering them.

SethAZ 

If you look around on the web you can find pros and cons, including some youtube videos and whatnot from people riding them. There's one from a guy in Australia who built up a set of Chinese carbon wheels and now has something like 13,000 kilometers on them. He's finally worn the braking surface out so he'll have to replace them. It's a little confusing watching his videos because he slapped a set of Easton stickers on his cheap generic Chinese rims, which he admits he did in one of his videos.

I ordered a pair of Chinese rims from light-bicycle.com a little over a week ago. I should have them soon. I ordered them in 36h drilling, and I plan to lace them to White Industries CLD hubs for a reasonably light and yet tough as nails wheelset. The ones I got are the 46mm deep section rims that are 28mm wide. Since my new bike that I'm building these for has disc brakes there's no braking surface on the rims for me to wear out, so presuming I don't crash or hit the Grand Canyon of all potholes and shatter the rims they should last me more or less forever.

I went for the 28mm wide (external) rims because I'll be riding my new bike (Lynskey R260) with 32C tires to start with, with the possibility of going up in size from there if I want to. The 28mm width of these rims will be better suited to these wider tires than usuall 21-24mm width rims.

brawlo

They've been around long enough that the quality of them is matching the bigger brand names. From there what I'd be looking for is a proven warranty history. That is often the difference between the Chinese sellers and the brand names. The days of carbon assplosion are pretty much over, but things do still go wrong, even in big brand rims, so make sure you're going to be covered if that happens. I have Light Bicycle rims on my track bike and they have been faultless for 4 years now, but they don't cop the abuse that road rims do.

SethAZ 

I'm glad to hear about your 4-year success so far with the Light Bicycle wheels. Since this is the Clydesdale forum, I'm curious, are you willing to tell us how much you weigh, and how many spokes you've got fore and aft, and what hubs?

I'm currently around 285, but trending downward fairly quickly. My goal is to be in the 240s, but I doubt I'll get much lower than that. My current self-built wheels have held up well under my weight with 32h fore and aft, but I'd have gone higher at least in the rear if the rims and hubs I used for them had been available in higher counts. I have every expectation that this new Light Bicycle build will hold up at least as well if not much better, and serve me well, particularly as I'll be able to run wider tires on the new bike than I can on my current one.

brawlo

No problem, I'm currently sitting around 120kg~265lb. Been as much as 130kg~285lb and was stripped down to about 245lb for my focus comp last season. They are the 23mm tubs in 88mm depth. Laced 28/28 cxrays to Dura Ace hubs. The guy who built them for me was doing a stint at my LBS and had spent time as a wheelbuilder for Zipp. I've never had to get them adjusted after his initial check after the first comp I rode them in. He was also very full of praise for the quality of the rims. While they don't cop the road abuse, hitting turns at speed on the velo puts out forces in the region of 1.6g, so theoretically at times they have been handling weights in excess of 450lb.

Little history - Not sure what's around out there these days about LB, but back then, there was absolutely nothing about their road rims. BUT there were lots of happy customers punishing the hell out of their downhill MTB rims. As far as bicycle parts go, that would have to be one of the best proving grounds and so I was happy to give them my custom. That and you could get any drilling you wanted and also get them without a brake track for the clean track look

SethAZ 

Thanks for the response! Yeah, when I saw that they could be had without the brake track, and with 36h drilling, I more or less stopped looking around. I did find more MTB mentions of them online, but they'd been around enough, and I did find just enough opinions from people online saying they were legit, to push me over the edge. For what it's worth, I ordered them with the glossy 3k finish, 36h, no brake track, and black Light Bicycle logo graphics. The black graphics will look "stealth" under the glossy clearcoat over the 3k finish. I'm not ashamed for people to see that I went with cheap Chinese rims, but I didn't want their huge logos dominating the look of my bike either. I'm planning on using nickel-plated brass nipples, black spokes, and polished silver White Industries hubs. The black/silver/black/silver look should compliment my industrial finish Lynskey titanium nicely, and fit in with the overall simple black/silver look of the bike (also have a black Brooks saddle for that same reason, rather than some other color).

jsigone

I debated on that earlier this yr, I already own some planet X china 50mm tubes but needed tires to be more durable. Then after some hunting I scored a set of 11speed Mavic Carbone SL from Ebay's "pro Closet" for $500 plus shipping and have beat the living hell out of them and they still remain straight as arrow. I have about 3200miles on them so far this yr with several hundred miles of dirt trails on them.

The Pros Closet | eBay Stores

I don't think I'd ride through the rocks n sand on china carbons like I did with the Carbones but you may be different style of riding

DMC707

Bingo!

I am ordering a set for my big yeti 29'er soon based on feedback ive heard from other guys' who use them for endure style riding

I think a set pre-built and pre-laced to Industry 9 hubs in the anodizing color and drilling of my choice is less than a grand --- vs 3k retail for a set of Enve's

Cant wait to take a little weight off my steed with these

SethAZ 

Yeah, the stupid thing is it'll probably end up costing me just as much to buy the WI hubs and spokes separately and build the wheels myself than it would have cost me to just have Light Bicycle build them up with comparable hubs. I don't mind though. This way I got to chop the purchases up into smaller bites that my wife will be less likely to notice or take issue with. I've been around the block a few times. :-)

Not to mention, I'll know the quality of the spokes I'm getting, the hubs, etc. and I'll know exactly how they were built, and take full responsibility for them.

SethAZ 

Btw, I hadn't heard from Light Bicycle in the last 17 days so I went back through my email and found a link they sent me to track my order status, and it says they were shipped. No tracking number, but they're out there somewhere, slowly wending their way towards my house. Haven't ordered hubs/spokes yet, though.

Tell me what you guys think: I've been thinking DT Swiss Aero Comps for the front, even though with a 36h build it's not like the aeroness of the spokes will matter much. Then I was thinking normal 2.0/1.8/2.0 for the rear. I might consider a lighter guage for the NDS spokes, but with a disc break wheel the difference between DS and NDS will be less, so I may just keep it simple and go 2.0/1.8/2.0 across the board.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan to you guys?

brawlo

I run Cx-rays on my road and track wheels. They are purported to be a bit flexy/stretchy, and I can notice that on my road wheels. I have to run the brake pads a little wider for that reason, although the flex isn't very much and you won't even notice it on disc wheels. I have seen wheelbuilders prefer using DT Swiss aero spokes for the stretch reason.

It boils down to what you want to make you happy I think. Going for 36sp wheels is a bit of overkill IMO, but that ship has now sailed. So 36sp won't be the aero goodness. I would just stick with standard double butted spokes and a reasonable hubset that uses sealed bearings. I have been a fanboy of Shimano bits since getting into road riding 10 years ago. I purchased a set of Pro Lite track wheels for training purposes with sealed hubs and those things spin every bit as good as my 2 sets of Dura Ace hubs. High quality sealed bearings are cheap to replace. Get a hubset with a good solid body and upgrade the bearings in them if you're not happy with OEM ones.

Running 36 spokes now if you're on a downward weight journey I would say you may be wanting to get yet another wheelset with less spokes and nicer bits in the near future, so I would get solid componentry for this wheelset without going cheap or overboard on price.

SethAZ 

I appreciate the comments. I'm at around 285lbs right now and on a downward journey again (was 380 in 2009, spent most of the time since then between 265-285/290 or so), but my "dream weight" is like 240, and I doubt I'll ever get much lower than that unless I contract some devastating chronic illness*. Assuming I get down to 240 I'll still be a superclyde by most cycling standards. I'll never be a racer, and the only speed factor will be whether I can keep up with whatever group I ride with. I doubt I'll ever choose wheels with less than a 32/32 spoke count, and I figured that going to 36 will cost me little in terms of actual performance and money, so I just went with it.

I've looked at lot at the CX-Rays and I like them, but I do think they're a little too thin for the likes of me. The CX-Sprint would be about the same as the DT Aero Comps in terms of the size of the spoke before they forge the middle section into a blade. I figure if I go with the DT Aero Comps up front I'll get slightly better aero for the same thickness and strength of spoke as I'd use if I don't go with the bladed, ie: 2.0/1.8/2.0. It may be that I get no benefit at all from the bladedness of the spokes, in which case I may do it anyway just for the bling factor. Not that anyone I ride with will care, but hey, we all like having nice things once in a while.

*30 years ago as a college freshman I was in the 200lb weight range and was in absolutely fantastic shape. I simply don't have a traditional cyclist body. If you ever see me at 160-175 or whatever it'll be because I've been in a coma for a year, and just pull the plug and do us all a favor.

SethAZ 

Btw, the new Shimano RS 770 hubs have a 36h drilling, and look exactly like something I would use, and are about half what the White Industries would cost. I used Ultegra hubs on the 32/32 wheels I built for my current bike, and I've liked them. The one thing that I don't know about is whether I'll have problems with the axle. The rear hub would be fine, but the front is 12x100 TA on the Shimano hub, whereas the fork on my new bike will be a 15x100 TA. Is there a converter that makes running a 12x100 hub in 15x100 forks painless and just as secure and stable?

Shimano RS 770 front hub

brawlo

You must be pretty big! I'm 196cm (6'5") tall and 120kg~265lb. Talk about being non traditional, there's a picture of me in the dictionary under non-traditional cyclist

No need to forget about racing either. I love it and the competition is what keeps me from laying on the couch and getting fat(ter). I really love track racing as it's a sport within our sport where my weight and size seem to matter less. The last few years I've chosen to concentrate on the sprint side, because despite my size and weight I still manage to be up the pointy end of the field. Over time I have also had success with flat crit style racing and handicap racing (I don't think they do much or any of that style of racing in the US)

Looks like you have a more traditional MTB size thru axle fork and so you might want to look at MTB hubs. They're basically exactly the same thing as road hubs in bearing configuration and there probably should be a lot more options floating around in 36h as that's a lot more common in the MTB world.

You also won't have a problem with Cx-rays either. They're a good spoke, although they can be pricey

SethAZ 

Yeah, well I'm a little shorter than you at around 6'2.5", but my weight distribution must be remarkably even across my body because I hide it well. Granted, at around 285 right now I look like a big guy, there's no doubt about it, but when I get down to 240 or so most folks would guess I was 200. When I got married 26 years ago I was around 225 lbs and the photos I have from back then show a very lean-looking guy. My all-time rock-bottom weight as a (barely) adult was around 195lbs or so when I was 19 or 20 and riding my bike many miles a day over in Switzerland. The funny thing for me is that my conditioning at 195lbs then was sort of best-possible case, yet even at 195 I was practically in that weight category all its own known as the clydesdale, beyond which nobody in cycling apparently gives a ****e about you. My bodyfat percentage was low enough at 195lbs that getting to something like 165 (that typical thin cyclist body) would have required me contracting full-blown AIDS or something. And that was when I was 19. Now that I'm on the verge of turning 49, and have been 380lbs in my life, my body has lots of extra skin and tissues, my metabolism isn't nearly as fast as it was then, and losing weight is really hard, and keeping it off is really hard, and due to having been really fat before there's a practical lower bound to how low I'll ever get. As I said, 240 is probably my "dream" weight, and I'll be doing very well indeed if I ever get much lower than that.

Which means that whatever cycling I do, even at my dream weight, will be as a clydesdale, and I just have to accept that most cycling equipment isn't really made for guys like me, and adapt and overcome accordingly. Hence the new 36h wheelset. It will be tough as nails, while being lighter than most would assume (given a relatively light carbon rim, and the same hubs a thin guy would use on his own build). I think I'll be well served by it.

The primary drawback I'm seeing with my new bike's 15mm front axle, and my choice of 36h up front too, is that I'm very constrained in hub choices. I probably should have gone 32h up front and 36h in the rear, but decided in the end that the whole philosophy behind this wheelset was for it to be truly a tough, durable wheelset, and 32h just seemed like an unnecessary compromise.

Btw, there are indeed plenty of nice MTB front hubs I could choose from. I'd just like on this new wheelset to keep the front and rear a matched pair. It looks like there's no way to use the Shimano RS 770 hubs due to the 12mm front axle, so White Industries looks like it's my only choice. Fortunately they're good hubs.

Slightspeed

My Culprit came with 55 mm Token Carbon rims. They have been very durable as far as spokes and staying true for 4 years or so on the pot holes of LA. The rear hub developed some clacking sound problems and the bearings became very loose in less than a year. The bike builder offered me a set of Reynolds Assault 41 cm at half price. The Tokens at 55 cm are very crosswind sensitive, and I was thinking of looking for lower profile anyway. The Reynolds are better in cross winds, and have been just as durable. Token took care of a warranty claim, and sent me new freehub and bearings, so now I have two sets, one for windy days and one for flatter roads on less windy days. It's all good. The first couple of years I was in the 220-235 lb range, finally just under 200 lbs. Being a heavier rider, I don't trust rim brakes on carbon rims, the disc brakes solved that, and I love riding them. Aren't pretty much all reasonable cost carbon wheels Chinese made now? BTW, the Tokens, even with disc hubs come with a carbon brake track (special pads reqd) on the rim because the Culprit is switchable, disc to rim type brakes. My Reynolds are disc only.

SethAZ 

My light-bicycle 28mm wide by 46mm deep carbon rims came in today. I posted some photos up in the road cycling subforum in this post if anyone is interested in seeing what they look like.

t80

Resurrecting this dead thread...just discovered this forum and looking for carbon track wheels. Do you use yours just for the velodrome? I am looking to use mine for road use. I am a Clyde, but 220lb, so I figured a 32h carbon would be OK for me. Love to hear your thoughts and what wheel you ended up going with. Thanks. .

TrojanHorse

I think 32 is overkill for deep carbon rims, especially if you're only 220 lb. (same as me)

I believe these are 20 in the front, 24 in the rear. Too lazy to go look but that's what they appear to be in this picture. I've had them for almost 3 years now, still going strong.

t80

wow. thanks for this. Yea, you are 20/24. Hey so let me ask you, because I had a guy at the LBS and the sales clerk at Retrogression basically refuse to sell me a carbon clincher track wheelset that's 20/24. I see you have a road bike and I would be using on a track bike, but how are the roads you do ride on? I would be using mine on city streets (no Velodrome for me). Retrogression has a beautiful house brand of carbon clinchers for $699 full set. Like I said, the clerk who said he is 200 lbs himself told me he would feel very uncomfortable selling them to me. Which, considering they turned down my $700, resonated with me. So I am curious to hear more of your experience on your road set. Are they clinchers? How deep dish are they? Do you ride frequently? Baby them? Hit pot holes? etc. Thanks for this. I should note, Retrogression does sell carbon hoops with 32H that I could build up myself, but obviously it'd be easier to buy the 20/24 set and be done with it. Sapim double butted spokes and brass nipples if that matters. Oh and they are 50mm.

TrojanHorse

Those are 48mm clinchers and the roads around here are OK. I've hit plenty of potholes, I can tell you that. I probably put about 3,000 miles a year on them, although some of that will come from my other bike or a different wheel set. Still, I was terrified when I first got them but they have proved to be plenty durable. Really, the only rides I won't do on them involve mountains (one of the local mountain roads near me features a 10 mile, 6% descent and it's twisty. Don't want to melt my wheels!)

I'm not racing on those though, and not putting down Mega Watts, so maybe your reluctant salesman is taking something else into consideration other than simple wheel durability?